Dangerous Wishes
by IndigoNicki-xoxo
Summary: Max has spent her whole life waiting for something- but when it happens, will she give it up for what she realizes she really wants in life? Will she let go of what she's been longing for to hold on to the love she's just found? Max/Fang no wings OOC
1. The Accident

Dangerous Wishes Full Summary: Max is a normal girl, living a normal life. She's been waiting forever for her life to take an interesting turn. So when things start happening, she wants nothing more than for it never to stop. But when the occurrences start getting unexplainable and potentially dangerous, Max has to decide: is this what she really wants? If she was given the chance, would she wish it all away? Would she give up what she's been longing for for her whole life to hold on to what she really loves most? Max/Fang no wings OOC

**So here it is. Hope you enjoy. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. I was going to upload it right after this one, but when I tried to my computer decided to be stupid and delete it all. I have to go back and retype it, but hopefully the new version will be better. It should be up soon, hopefully. Anyway, enjoy the first chapter!**

* * *

><p>My legs burned. Everything burned, and my heart felt like it was pounding a thousand times per second. My chest ached with building pressure and lack of oxygen. My body was on fire, but I couldn't stop. Not now.<p>

_Keep going, _I told myself. _You're almost there. Just a couple more feet, lean forward, and-_

_Whoosh!_Time slowed down. I could faintly see, through the tears that blurred my vision, that Coach Bryant was standing next to me, a satisfied smile on his wrinkled face as he looked at the time on his stopwatch. I heard in the background the congratulatory cheers of my teammates from the bleachers.

I slowed to a jog, then came to a stop a couple feet after the finish line. My hands were shaking as I reached out to take the stopwatch from Coach Bryant's extended hand. When I saw the time displayed there, I just about fainted with joy.

**12:08. **Almost a whole second faster than my previous record in the 100-meter sprint.

After a pat on the back and a "Good job" from Coach Bryant, I collapsed on the bleachers where my friends were squealing with excitement. Shawn jumped up and down energetically, and Michelle handed me a towel to wipe off my face.

"Holy shit! You were so frickin' fast!" Shawn exclaimed, her bright blue eyes wide.

I smirked, setting the towel down beside my navy blue Eagles bag and grabbing my Nike reusable water bottle.

"I know, I know. I'm pretty damn incredible."

The truth was, and my friends knew it, I had never run that fast before. In my whole life. Ever. The whole self-absorbed, egotistical thing was just something we did for laughs.

"But seriously. I can't believe how fast you ran. It was crazy. You keep that up, and you'll be the number one choice for MVP this year."

"That's my goal," I said, giving Shawn a hopeful smile.

"Ohmygod. You should've seen the look on Dylan' face, Max. He was in awe. He couldn't stop staring at you," Michelle gushed.

I snuck a peek at the super-hot senior where he sat with a couple of his equally-hot friends. They were laughing and goofing off, not even acknowledging my existence. I had been hopelessly mesmerized by Dylan from the moment I laid eyes on him. He had just moved a few months ago from New Jersey, and already he was fitting in, part of the popular crowd. All the girls swarmed around him, trying to get his attention. So far he had gone out on a few dates, but he hadn't made any commitments. I didn't get my hopes up, though. Based on the pattern of girls he'd dated so far, he preferred tall blonde seniors with single-digit IQs, huge boobs, and at least one non-ear piercing. Well, except for that one flat-chested redhead...

Yeah. I had it bad.

Shawn and Michelle caught me looking and giggled, exchanging looks.

Shawn piped up, "Rumor has it, that last date he had with Shelby didn't go so well. I think he's looking for someone new."

Michelle wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at me.

I rolled my eyes at them and told them I'd text them later, then I was off to my locker to get the 70 pounds of textbooks I need for homework.

I had just turned the lock to the last number of my combo when I heard-

"Hey, Max!"

I turned around, expecting to see one of my teammates, stopping me to talk about the next meet. But it was Ella, my brother Iggy's girlfriend and my absolute BFF.

"Hey, girl! What are you doing here?" I asked, reaching forward to give her a hug. Until March, she was attending an extra-curricular photography class from five forty-five to seven at the community college. Track practice ended at six-thirty.

"I thought I'd ditch that stupid class and come hang out with you. Besides, I'm going to catch a movie with Iggy in half an hour." Ella looked at me with a mischievous grin and a sparkle in her beautiful long-lashed blue-violet eyes. I could see why my brother was so hopelessly in love with her. She was really beautiful, with gorgeous auburn hair and full, raspberry-red lips. Her nose was what some people might call a button nose, all round and curved at the end.

I laughed. "Sure, just hang on a minute while I get my stuff." Ella nodded and waited as I loaded up my backpack.

We had met when my brother first started dating her, almost two years ago. Right away I had felt a connection with her, and soon we became inseparable. Iggy was jealous at first of all the time she spent with me, but she learned to balance time between us. She was like part of the family now. Both Iggy and Ella were seventeen and seniors in high school, and it was obvious they were madly in love. Everyone knew it, and I was secretly hoping they would get married. Then Ella and I would be real sisters.

As we walked to the parking lot, I told Ella about my success at track practice. She was so excited, you would've thought she was the one who had accomplished it. That was one of the things I loved about her; she never got jealous or angry, bit instead she was always supportive and happy for me.

When I saw her red Mini Cooper parked by the curb, it's personalized licensee plate reading **LIL RED**, I remembered I had gotten a ride from my dad this morning, so I didn't have my car. Ella must've noticed this, and she asked, "Need a ride?"

I nodded gratefully and got into the passenger seat. Once she started up the car, I turned on the radio to our favorite station: the '80s station.

I recognized the song immediately. It was "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran, one of our all-time favorites. I turned up the volume, and Ella and I started singing along, totally out of tune, as we got on the highway.

"In touch with the ground, I'm on the hunt, I'm after you. A scent and a sound..."

All of a sudden, the car swerved onto the dirt by the side of the road, spinning uncontrollably. Lights flashed in front of my eyes, even after I cinched them shut in fear. My chest was fluttering. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. An image of a body, laying in a pool of blood on the side of the road, came unbidden to my mind. I held my breath and waited for the spinning to stop, the spinning in my head as well as the car's. With an abrupt jerk forward, the car crashed into a nearby tree, stopping us just in time and barely saving us from toppling over the edge of the highway.

A black van flew by and honked.

I closed my eyes, trying to catch my breath, before asking, "What happened?" My voice came out uncertain, quivering ever so slightly.

Ella just shook her head, her hands still on the steering wheel. She was breathing heavily, too.

We both just sat there for a minute, trying to wrap our heads around what had just happened. We had been in a car accident. We could've been killed.

Finally Ella spoke. "That car came out of nowhere. It just appeared, in the middle of the road. It almost looked like it was heading straight for us. I mean, how could I not see that car coming? I swear it just came out of thin air. It was going so fast, and I-"

She stopped, calmed herself down before continuing. "I tried to swerve around it, but then I just lost control of the car. We started spinning, and then the tree..."

She trailed off. I looked at her, then unbuckled my seatbelt and examined the damage that had been caused. One of the headlights had been smashed, and glass was sprayed everywhere. The license plate was a little crooked, and basically the whole front of the car was ruined. The windshield had a small crack in the bottom corner, but it otherwise looked intact. Poor Lil' Red.

Ella got out too and came to stand next to me. After a few moments of silence, she said quietly, "That is one huge-ass dent."

I couldn't help it. I started laughing. I started laughing and I couldn't stop, and pretty soon she was laughing, too.

Once we sobered up, she called a tow service and I called Iggy, telling him what happened so he and my mom wouldn't worry.

By the time the tow truck came and all the insurance got sorted out and I was finally back home, it was dark out.

My mom was in the living room pretending to watch TV. She choked back sobs of relief when she saw I was okay, and hugged me tight and told me she had been worried sick and that I should be more careful.

Iggy had gone out to check on Ella, and my other three siblings were either asleep or in their rooms doing homework. I still had a ton of work to do for the next day, so I said my goodnights and grabbed an apple before heading upstairs. I stayed up all night alternating between doing homework, texting Shawn and Michelle, and wondering what would've happened if Ella had been just a little slower in seeing that van. I fell asleep at my desk halfway through my algebra, my clothes and shoes still on.

That night I dreamt about speeding cars and shattering glass. And blood. Lots of blood.

* * *

><p><strong>So that's it. You like? Review! Any criticism as well as ideas to use later in the story is welcome. Hope you liked it!<strong>

**-Nicki**


	2. Strange Occurrences

**Okay so here it is, as promised. I stayed up all night retyping this, so I hope it's good.**

**You know the drill: read and review!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p>I knew something was different from the moment I was rudely awakened by my younger brother Gazzy's shouts about how he wanted Froot Loops instead of Special K.<p>

I could feel it, a sort of pulling in my bones and a nagging in the back of my head. Something was off.

Too tired to come up with a better explanation, I chalked it up to nerves. I had a good reason, after all. There was an algebra test today, one that I hadn't studied for. I hadn't even finished the homework last night.

Oh, well. I was already failing, along with chemistry, history, and english. One more lousy test score wouldn't make a difference.

I rolled out of bed, managed to pull a comb through my misbehaving hair, pulled on a tank top and a reasonably clean pair of jeans,and snagged a blueberry muffin off the counter and said goodbye to my family before heading out to school. My family- the most obnoxious people in the world, but I somehow still love them.

There was 6 year-old Angel, the cutest little girl you ever did see, but also the most villainous and conniving. A perfect example of how looks can be deceiving. Then there was 9 year-old Zephyr, or Gazzy, as we called him, because of a, um, _problem_ of his. A very smelly problem. And then there was Monique, the 13 year-old overly perky shopaholic whose extreme loyalty was going to get her in trouble someday. She liked to talk. Like, a lot. As in, she never shut up. We called her Nudge because you had to nudge her, really, really hard to get her to stop talking. Also to remind her to breathe. And, lastly, there was Iggy. His real name was Jeff, but he preferred to be called Iggy so he didn't have to be reminded of our dad, who he was sort of named after. When Iggy was born, 17 ears ago, he was blind. But my mom was a vet and had connections in the medical world, and one of her surgeon friends said they would perform the surgery for free, and so now he can see. Sometimes, though, I know he wishes he was still blind.

Overall, I have a pretty great family. It's just us and my mom, Valencia, since my dad, Jeb, left us when I was 10, right after Angel was born. I know its hurt Iggy the most. They had been pretty close, while I had always been sort of distant from him growing up. Anyway, we're all mostly over it now. My mom got back into dating and it seems like she's really happy.

Now, sitting in algebra class and spacing out instead of working on the test Mr. Conrad had handed out, I was daydreaming of a different kind of family. Dylan, who sat behind me and one seat to the left, was at the perfect spot for me to inconspicuously gaze at him. My daydreams consisted of us, married and in love, with lots of cute little babies. I already had a list of baby names recorded in my math notebook, right after the page on the quadratic formula. Which I should have studied before this stupid exam.

Sometimes our babies had his dark blonde hair and my blue-grey eyes, and other times they were brown-haired and green-eyed. Either way, I knew that Dylan and these children were what I wanted in my future. No matter how unlikely that seemed, given that he probably didn't even know my name.

I sighed and turned back to my test, scribbling down random answers that seemed mathematical and hoping for the best. When class was over, Mr. Conrad signaled to me to stay behind. I knew what was coming. I prepared myself for the lecture I knew was about to come, the disappointed look and the speech about how I'm a very smart kid who just needs motivation. I'd heard it a thousand times.

But this time, Mr. Conrad held up my test and looked at me happily. I had gotten an A! An A on a math test I hadn't studied for, that I was fairly certain I had flunked. That was impossible; there must've been a mistake. I had never gotten an A on a math test before, not since I started failing it in the fifth grade. The only reason I kept advancing grades is because the teachers all thought I was hopeless and wanted to pass me along to some other poor soul who would try to help me, like Mr. Conrad.

Except now he believed that he had succeeded. While I stood there, thoroughly confused, he gave me a lecture on how he knew from the beginning that if I just tried a little harder, I would tap into my true potential. How he was so excited that I was finally improving and how he hoped I would keep up the good work.

I mentally barfed.

How had I gotten an A? I didn't know a single answer on that test. I didn't even know what the hell they were talking about on most of the questions. I really had guessed, writing down the first thing that popped into my severely-lacking brain. Severely lacking in intelligence, that is.

As Mr. Conrad congratulated me once more and then dismissed me to go to class, I was stuck in a sort of haze, yet I felt oddly alert. Like I was asleep, but awake at the same time.

I shook it off and tried to focus, making my way to chemistry, which I was also failing. I desperately hoped that would not change in the near future.

I took my seat at the back of the room. My emo partner was already there, dressed in his usual black and smug yet disinterested expression. I ignored him. If I backed off and didn't engage him, he would do all the work. I learned that lesson early on. If only we were graded in chemistry on the labs instead of the write-ups we did on them for homework. Considering how I never actually participated in the labs, it's not surprising that I had a dangerously low grade.

The nagging feeling was back now. The strange pulsing at the back of my mind, persistent and extremely annoying. I tried to ignore it. I figured if I pushed it back for long enough, it would disappear. Boy, was I wrong.

After the teacher, Mrs. Vardy, finished explaining the instructions, she let us loose to mix random chemicals and blow shit up. Immediately my partner picked up one of two vials filled with a blue-green liquid and got ready to pour it into a vial containing an orangey substance.

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through my head, more intense than any headache I've ever had. It pulsated and made my vision swim. It screamed at me that something bad was going to happen. I gritted my teeth and toughed it out, determined not to draw attention to myself.

My partner didn't seem to notice. He was slowly pouring the blue-green chemical into the orange one, and-

_Boom!_

The vial exploded. In my face.

The room filled with smoke that clogged my nose and mouth. My coughing attack didn't help the current ringing in my head. Someone yelled. With my eyes unable to see anything but the inches of smoke in front of me, the room seemed to shrink, smothering me. I felt panicked, trapped, like an injured animal trying to escape a snare but only making matters worse. I fumbled blindly around the room, searching for something, anything. The pain in my head now combined with the pain in my lungs from all the smoke and I was pretty sure I would pass out right then and there if a large, warm hand hadn't grabbed my upper arm and strongly directed me away from the commotion and into the hallway.

I pretty much collapsed against the first solid thing I could find, which would be the solid chest of my rescuer. The pain in my head had subsided and now just felt like a mild headache, but my lungs were congested with smoke. I coughed and coughed, bringing tears to my eyes and wracking my stomach until I felt too weak to continue. The person I was leaning on just stood there, supporting me and not saying anything.

Suddenly realizing how awkward that must have been for them, I took a a jerky step back, too fast apparently, because I got dizzy and almost fell over. A hand reached out and stabilized me. A hand that I now realized belonged to my emo lab partner.

He looked different, though. His hair, which I had always thought would be greasy, him being the stereotypical emo teenager with no hygiene and all, was actually silky soft. I wanted to run my fingers through it.

He was tall and strong-looking, with at least a good 6 inches on my 5'7 frame. His afore-mentioned and shampoo commercial worthy hair fell unevenly and admittedly sexily in front of his dark eyes. I admired his defined and masculine jaw and nose, his olive skin smooth and unblemished. How had I been sitting next to this guy for an hour each day since the school year started and not seen how incredibly gorgeous he was?

He realized his hand was still on my shoulder and hastily removed it. Now the full awkwardness of the situation dawned on me. Just seconds ago I had been clinging onto him, and now I was checking him out. I didn't even know his name. I was pretty sure I had never heard him speak.

"Um," I said stupidly, not sure what to say. My cheeks burned with a blush he couldn't have missed.

He regarded me coolly, his signature smirk plastered onto his face.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice deep and husky. It gave me shivers. It seemed like it took him a lot of effort and resolve to say those two words. Had I really not ever head his voice before?

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered, my voice cracking embarrassingly, contradicting my statement.

He just nodded. Stuffed his hands into the pockets of his oversized hoodie- also black; big surprise.

I stood there awkwardly, feeling the silence being saturated with more awkwardness by the second.

"So, um, thanks. I'm Max, by the way," I offered, not knowing what else to say.

Emo boy just nodded. So did I. It was a long, slow, I-totally-know-what-kind-of-guy-you-are-now-and-it's-not-good-no-matter-how-sexy-you-are nod.

"So, what happened back there anyway?" I asked lamely, more for need to fill the silence that was creeping up on us that for desire to initiate conversation with this guy, who obviously was vocally challenged.

He shrugged. I was fed up with this guy and his disinterested behavior. I reached for the door to go back into the chemistry classroom- at the exact same time he did. Our hands touched. I swear there were sparks.

To make matters worse, we both pulled back at the same time, effectively bumping into each other. My elbow accidentally tugged at his obscure band T-shirt, revealing a shark tooth necklace. Weird. I hadn't pegged him as the type to be into the whole surfer, puka shell necklace thing. Then again, I was finding out very quickly that I knew very little about him. Plus, as I looked closer, ignoring the odd look he was giving me, I realized it didn't look like other shark teeth: it was the wrong shape and discolored, tinted a sort of reddish-brown. I immediately thought of blood. Oh my god, he had a fang on his necklace. He was a vampire!

I crack myself up. So naturally I started hysterically laughing. Until I saw his extremely creeped-out expression.

I stepped away from him and cleared my throat, fully aware of how crazy I had been acting just then.

I figured it would be best if I just pretended like that hadn't happened, and ducked my head and retreated back into the classroom. Mrs. Vardy had finished cleaning up our mess and was stressing to the class the importance of following directions. A few seconds later, Fang, as I decided to call him because of his necklace, entered the room and took his place next to me. I couldn't help but glance at him from out of the corner of my eye.

How had I been sitting next to him for this long and never noticed his totally kissable lips?

Okay, I did not just think that. Dylan, Dylan, Dylan. Dylan, my true love. Not incredibly sexy emo chemistry partner.

Finally the bell rang and I was safe from the temptation of Fang. The rest of the day was uneventful, free of any more strange occurrences- until the last period of the day, P.E.

I'd always been athletic, good at running and jumping and stuff like that. But when it came to any sport with actual _things _involved, like balls or rackets, I was hopeless.

So I was filled with dread when the P.E. teacher, Mr. Eustice, a.k.a. the Devil, announced that we were beginning the tennis unit. That dread increased until it was like a boulder in the pit of my stomach when he loudly explained that in order for him to evaluate how much experience we had, we would be serving. One at a time. So my nonexistent tennis skills would be on display for everyone to see. And potentially mercilessly laugh at.

Oh, and did I mention that Dylan was also in my P.E. class? Yes, Dylan, the one and only, the Greek Sex God. How absolutely fan-freakin-tastic.

"Ride, you're up!" Mr. Eustice called, way louder than necessary. Is it just me or do all P.E. teachers have a tendency to speak in eardrum-splitting volumes?

I slowly made my way across the court to where he was standing. I scooped up a racket and tennis ball from the crate by Mr. Eustice's feet and mentally reviewed the steps to serving that he had just demonstrated while I was wallowing in self-pity. Basically, I resolved myself for miserable failure and complete public humiliation.

I cautiously tossed up the tennis ball, then clumsily swung the racket in the general direction the ball had gone. Imagine my surprise when I made contact.

Not only did I hit it, I smacked it head-on. It rocketed through the air, smashing down on the other side of the net. Perfect.

Mr. Eustice nodded approvingly before dismissing me and calling up the next victim. As I passed by Dylan, he caught my eye and gave me a little half-smile. Swoon.

I couldn't wait to tell Michelle and Shawn all about it during track practice. I would have to text Ella as well. She would be ecstatic!

How could it get better than this? Me, Maximum Ride, the most klutzy girl in the world, just aced a serve. In front of Dylan! It was unbelievable.

Thoughts of Dylan consumed my mind, but what I should have been thinking about was the other things that had happened that day: the impossible A in math, the chemistry premonition, the nerve-wracking nagging at the back of my head. But I had pushed all that worrisome stuff aside and was focusing on the good things. I was currently sitting in a park with Dylan while fairies twirled around us and flowers sang in the background. Oh, and there were unicorns, too. And everything was sparkly.

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

So I ignored the other stuff, because as far as I was concerned, the good- Dylan smiling at me- heavily outweighed the bad- the weirdness and headaches.

After track practice, and the squealing and giggling that came with it after I told Michelle and Shawn about P.E., I called my mom to come pick me up. I would've called Ella, but her car was in the shop after the crash yesterday, and I was a little spooked about being in the car with her. Not that I thought it was her fault, but it's hard to get over something like that.

I was in a good mood, so after I ate dinner I actually did all my homework, and I showered, and I played Twister with Angel and Gazzy, and then I got into bed, content and exhausted.

What surprised me most, though, even more than anything that had happened that day, was the fact that when I finally welcomed seep that night, it wasn't Dylan that filled my dreams- it was Fang.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so that was it. Hope you liked it. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Review!<strong>

**-Nicki**


	3. The Wish Comes True Part 1

**So here's Chapter 3. It would be better, but I was rushed and couldn't spend as much time on it as I would have liked. Anyway, hope you like it.**

* * *

><p>The Wish Comes True Part 1<p>

It was about a week after the freak accident with Ella. The headaches and nausea had steadily increased as the week dragged on.

Dylan had started talking to me, saying hey in the halls and asking me for math assignments.

Fang, on the other hand, had gotten even more distant, if it's possible to be more detached than not communicating in any way. I think he felt a little weird after the whole explosion, coughing attack, electric-shock-when-we-touched thing.

To be honest, it had sort of freaked me out, too. The electric shock thing, mostly. And how recently, despite the increase in talking and smiling and obscure glancing with Dylan, Fang had been more and more on my mind. His drop dead gorgeous looks, for starters. And that laugh- oh god, his laugh.

It made me want to run across the field from behind the tree I was oh-so-inconspicuously using as my invisibility cloak and jump him right then and there, in front of everyone.

And no, I wasn't stalking him. Just, you know, making sure he wasn't really a vampire.

But what I saw after hearing his rare laugh almost made me wish I hadn't followed him. It was a girl, a redhead, totally slutty and playboy-worthy in her miniscule skirt and almost nonexistent tube top. Seeing her with Fang was bad enough, but knowing that she was the one who made him laugh? That caused my heart such immense pain that my headaches seemed like nothing.

It didn't make sense: why did I care who Fang was with? I barely knew the guy. But somehow, that sole encounter outside the chemistry lab, it made me start paying attention, really noticing. I noticed how his face scrunched up in concentration when he focused really hard on something, how he looked on in disgust at the popular kids, Dylan included, and how he always had that damned smirk on his face.

What was the smirk, anyway? Was is like a you're-amusing smirk, or an I-know-something-you-don't smirk, or a life-is-a-joke-and-I'm-too-good-for-you smirk? Well, whatever message it conveyed, it was freaking sexy. No joke. It curved up on the left side, making this cute little dimple, and displaying his lips in a way that made me want to kiss them even more. His face was clean-shaven, which was a plus, with only a little stubble under his chin that was a total turn-on.

But this girl, this redhead, total turn _off. _How did Fang like this bitch? She was completely fake, from her overly large boobs to her borderline oompa loompa tan to her surgically whitened smile.

I hadn't thought that Fang would be into that kind of girl. I thought, I don't know, he would want someone with more substance, that he wasn't the type to sleep around.

Maybe I was wrong. That seemed to be happening to be a lot lately, at least concerning Fang. It shouldn't matter to me, anyway. I was pining after Dylan.

Speaking of Dylan, there he was. Walking this way. Right towards me. Holy freaking crap.

I straightened up, adjusted my shirt, turned away to check my breath, and then spun around to have my very first real conversation with Dylan.

"Hey, Max," he said with the signature guy head nod.

Please don't faint, please don't faint. Breathe, Max. Now speak.

"Hey," I answered, as nonchalantly as I could muster. It came out an octave too high. Dammit, Max. Keep your cool.

Dylan smiled. "So, how's it going?"

"Um, good," I replied.

Long pause.

"How about you?" I rushed out, stumbling on the words. Mentally crawling into a hole and dying.

"I'm good, thanks," Dylan half-laughed, his smile getting bigger.

Oh, great. Now he thinks I'm a big freak and he's gonna go make fun of me with his jock friends.

"So, I saw you the other day. During track practice? You were pretty hot."

Ohmygod. He did not just call me _hot._ Oh god. He did. Best. Day. Ever.

"Um, thanks. I didn't know you were there," I said, trying not to make it obvious that I was freaking out inside that he had actually seen it. Shawn and Michelle were right!

"Yeah, some of the guys are on the team. We all go to watch sometimes. You probably know them, Trevor, Ben, Cooper."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know Ben. He's insane at the hurdles."

Dylan nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, speaking of Ben, he's having a party this Saturday. You should come. It'll be totally cool, music, dancing, maybe a keg, you know. You should swing by."

My heart stopped. My eyes probably bugged out. Dylan just invited me to his party. Well, not _his _party, but his friend's party. _He _invited _me. _Me, Max Ride, who I thought was invisible to him until just now. Best. Freaking. Moment. Of. My. Entire. Life.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds fun," I answered, the epitome of cool.

"Alright. I'll text you the details." Dylan hesitated, and I realized he was waiting for me to offer my phone number. Facepalm.

"Oh, right, here," I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket. He did the same, and we swapped. I didn't know people actually did that. I only ever saw it in movies. I typed in my number, then waited anxiously as he did the same. After we switched back and he said bye and then returned to his friends, I looked down at my phone. He had put in a smiley face next to his number. Oh my Jesus could he be any cuter?

That was unreal. I just got invited to a party by Dylan, who I've been obsessing over for months. And here I was, standing under a tree that I was hiding behind watching Fang laugh with the Red-Headed Wonder, and I was just officially invited to a party by Dylan. What was I doing?

I sprinted off to find Ella and Michelle and Shawn and Iggy to tell them the amazing news. Just as I entered the cafeteria, my phone, which I realized I was still holding, buzzed. I turned it on to find a text from Dylan.

**hey max, just checking ur #. deets 4 the party coming soon. c u later?**

**-dylan**

Oh god. Hyperventilating. Breathe, Max, breathe. Good. In, out, in, out, repeat.

Seriously. This kid in crazy.

I smiled to myself- okay, I smiled really big for everyone to see- and resumed my search for Ella and friends.

Is started off again, humming some random tune under my breathe, smiling like I never have before, and basically just exuding happiness.

And then I ran smack into Fang.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so I know that was sort of a filler chapter, but the next chapter will really move the plot along. I promise :)<strong>

**Anyway, read, review, bring me fruit rollups. Best freaking thing on the planet, no joke. Especially those ones with the lines so you can tear them into little squiggly strips? Heaven.**

**So yeah, review! Next chapter coming soon.**

**-Nicki**


	4. The Wish Comes True Part 2

**Hey everyone! Chapter 4 here. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The Wish Comes True Part 2<p>

"Oh! Hey, Fang!" I said excitedly, too happy to realize the full awkwardness of the situation.

He raise an eyebrow at me. "Fang?"

"What? Oh, yeah. You know, your necklace? That tooth one? Well, I decided that you're a vampire. So Fang, see?" I chattered on, oblivious to his dubious looks or just too ecstatic to care.

"Are you high?" he asked drily, his smirk coming out again and stopping me in my tracks. My wacky spell sufficiently interrupted, I sobered up and tried to think of something witty to say. Not surprisingly, I came up empty.

So, of course, the natural smooth-talker that I am, I go with the classic I-have-absolutely-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about tactic. Trust me. Works every time.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about, kind sir." *wink wink*

Okay, so maybe not I haven't quite got it down yet. Don't judge.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever. Wanna explain why you're running around all crazy?"

"Um, no. I'll pass, thanks." I hurriedly shielded my phone, but Fang reached out and snatched it from my hands with a sly grin on his face.

"Date, huh?" he said, reading Dylan's text.

"None of your business," I huffed, trying to grab my phone back.

I missed. He raised his arm, daring me to jump with the challenge in his dark eyes.

Challenge accepted.

Jump I did, and may I say, it was quite a jump. Very impressive if I do say so myself. I launched myself off the ground and took back my phone from Fang's taunting hand, cutting off his laugh midway.

I landed on the ground, my worn out Vans slapping the flat cafeteria floor and sending a vibration throughout my whole body. Suddenly I was dizzy, a wave of nausea hitting me full force. My vision blurred, so I shut my eyes tight and tried to regain my balance. The wave passed after a moment, so hopefully Fang didn't notice it. Must've just been an effect of the jump. I blew the wispy bangs out of my face and faced Fang straight on.

I raised one eyebrow, celebrating my silent victory. He looked surprised; good, he hadn't seen the sick expression on my face. His hand was still partially lifted above him.

Looking from my face, to my phone, to his hand three feet above my head, he slowly dropped it back down to push back his dark hair. He let out a slow breath.

"Wow. Nice jump, shorty," he appraised me, his smirk returning.

"Thanks. Don't steal my phone," I replied, safely tucking away my phone in my back pocket. "And fine, yes, Dylan's taking me to his friend's party on Saturday."

Fang nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, maybe I'll swing by then. A friend asked me earlier if I wanted to go. Originally I said no, but you just might have changed my mind."

I couldn't help myself. I went for it. "Did that _friend _happen to be Slutty McRedhead over by the field?" I questioned almost angrily.

Fang looked surprised. "Brigid? How did you- never mind. At this point it wouldn't surprise me if you hid in trees for fun."

"Well?" I pried, ignoring his last statement.

He sighed. "Yeah, it was Brigid. I don't really like her, but if you're gonna be there, eh, why the hell not?"

The smirk present on his face made it evident he was kidding about me being the only reason he was going, but it still made me happy for some strange reason.

I nodded. "Cool. Well, I'll see you then, then." I frowned. "Or in chemistry tomorrow... Yeah. 'Kay. Bye."

I ducked my head and hurried past him. Then then? Classy, Max.

I could practically _hear_ the grin plastered onto his face.

Over the next couple of days leading up to the party, Fang and I talked a lot more. The awkward situation created by the hand-touching was covered up by the whole party thing, and at least now we had something to talk about. I think he was really starting to warm up to me, courtesy of my irresistible charm. During chemistry we would actually have a conversation, and while he still did all the work, the class was definitely more interesting.

It was quickly becoming one of my favorite classes, as most of the others were starting to scare me a bit. In math, Mr. Conrad was continually expressing how impressed he was with my rapid improvement. He was convinced that somehow I had unlocked the door that had prevented my mind form embracing its true potential, and that the key to my success in math was an increase effort. I was convinced he was seriously high. I hadn't changed my studying habits one bit, or my lack thereof. Yet somehow, my grade steadily climbed from a solid -C to a -B to a +B. If this miracle continued, I would end up with an A by the end of the month.

There seemed to be a trend, not that I was complaining. I was doing better in the rest of my classes as well. In history, I could suddenly remember dates of important battles and the names of influential government officials without wracking my brain. They just came to me, jumping out from whatever hidden place in the back of my memory that had been recently uncovered. And in English, I no longer struggled as much with grammar or vocabulary. When we took our weekly Friday vocab test that week, I didn't miss a single word. I knew each definition to the letter, exactly how it was written in our workbook.

How, exactly, was this happening? I had no clue. But really, in my place, would you be worrying about it? I was much too interested in Dylan and his increase in communication with me.

Now, we texted constantly, hung out with each other at lunch, and sometimes met up after track practice. We were usually with his friends or my track teammates, but it was fun to spend time with him. We were practically a couple, even before we had our real first date. At least I would be more comfortable going to a party with him now that I felt that I really knew him.

Hopefully it wouldn't be too awkward with Fang, now that he was going. Fang was... different. Totally not what I expected, whereas Dylan was the complete opposite, exactly how I always fantasized he would be. When we were together, he was the perfect gentleman, introducing me to his friends, offering me his jacket, cute couple-y things like that. And Fang- well, Fang was Fang. Tall, dark, and mysterious. That smoldering look in his eyes, that tantalizing smirk- mm mmm. De-licious. Absolutely delicious. But I couldn't admit that to myself, much less to him or anyone else. Plus, with things going to well with Dylan, well, I didn't want to risk that for one taste of the forbidden fruit, did I?

So I told myself I was content with being just friends, and it seemed to me like Fang was, too. I saw him with the Red-Haired Wonder a few more times, but I wasn't spying, I swear.

Just, you know, strolling about.

Ahem.

Anyway, now I was at track practice, on my way home. Dylan was there yet again, and he offered to drive me. I was hesitant, especially after the accident, but I shoved my worries aside and accepted his offer. He has this gorgeous, dark blue sports car, a Porsche or Ferrari or BMW or some other extremely expensive thing that I was totally jealous of.

Not to be creepy or anything, but the inside of his car smelled reeeeeally good. Like, amazingly good. And it wasn't that leathery new car smell, either. It was musky, masculine, but sort of sweet and spicy at the same time. It was making me delirious. I was hyper-aware of how close were were, and when he placed his right hand on the back of my seat when he turned to look out the back window to back up, I had to fight unbelievably hard to resist the urge to lean against him and wrap his arm around me.

He was just so damn hot.

He turned on the radio, and it was set on the classic rock station. One of my favorite songs was on.

I mean, seriously, could the guy be any more perfect? It's like he was made for me.

He was so adorably sweet when he pulled up to my house, offering to walk me up to the front door. I politely declined, though God knows why I would pass up the chance for a goodnight kiss.

I'm so proud of myself for resisting the temptation. I'm such a good girl.

But when I stepped in the entry way and saw my entire family, along with Ella, seated on the couch waiting for me, my heart sank to my stomach.

"What's wrong? Mom? Did something happen?" I asked, eyeing them worriedly and suspiciously at the same time. I moved my gaze over each face- Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, Ella, Angel, Mom.

My mind flashed back to that night, six years ago. I had gotten home from a friend's house. My mom was sitting in that exact spot, on the couch, waiting for me with the rest of my family next to her. That night she broke the news to me that my dad had left. That he had packed up his stuff and left, without a note or explanation. They were all crying.

Now, as I examined each of their faces, there were tears streaming down each and every one. My mind jumped from one possible explanation to another, and I feared the worst.

Then Ella jumped up suddenly and hugged me, squeezing me tightly. She pulled away just enough for me to be able to see what she showing me. Her left hand was held up, a beautiful, glorious diamond sparkling on her ring finger.

I stared at her in shock, completely still.

When I didn't give the response Ella was obviously expecting, she squealed excitedly, "He proposed, Max! He finally proposed!" She looked over at Iggy, her tear-streaked face shining and bright with ecstatic joy.

I also turned to face Iggy, as if verifying it was really true. He smiled at me and it was all the confirmation I needed to shake me out of my stupor.

"Oh my god," was all I could manage out before Ella enveloped me in her arms again.

Angel jumped up, too, and I hugged our waists, which were about as high up as she could reach.

"Oh my god," I exclaimed again, "I can't believe it! Congratulations, you guys!" I turned to Iggy to hug him once I finally broke away from Ella's strong embrace. "Well, I mean, we were all expecting it- actually, Iggy, what took you so long? We knew it was bound to happen some time or another-"

"Shut up, Max, you're turning into Nudge," Gazzy said while getting up to join in the group hug.

"Hey!" exclaimed Nudge, as she, too, stood up. For once, that was all she said.

My mom looked so happy in that moment, watching us all hugging and celebrating and crying and laughing and smiling. She stood and looked on for a moment, then joined in.

It seemed as though the hole left by my dad leaving was finally filled. Iggy, who was hit the hardest by his departure, was happier that I had seen him in a long while.

We celebrated long into the night, as a family. A happy, complete family.

We were so busy with the champagne, sparkling apple cider for Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel, that we were completely oblivious to anything happening outside our happy bubble.

We didn't notice the dark shadow hovering by the window, lurking. No one heard the rumble of a van's engine on the side of the street in front of our house. Not one of us felt the prickling sensation of being watched.

If we had, well, maybe things would have turned out differently for everyone.

* * *

><p><strong>Review review review! Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks!<strong>

**-Nicki**


End file.
